If we look at the energy industry in the rearview mirror, we see a traditional pipes-and-wires model where a utility company restores power after outages, and delivers safe and reliable electricity and gas to customers. This is our legacy and we continue to deliver that service today, but our customers and the environment around us demand more.
We have moved beyond the old utility paradigm into a company focused on innovative solutions that will help us reach a clean energy future. In just 10 years, I envision millions of electric vehicles on Northeast roads, a major shift to renewable resources, and smart grids that give customers choice and control of their energy consumption.
A commitment to clean energy
National Grid is at the forefront of the clean energy transition. We’re interconnecting more rooftop solar and energy storage, helping to create electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and investing to turn organic waste into renewable energy. Last year, we released the Northeast 80×50 Pathway, blueprint for how we and the states we serve (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York) will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050, focusing on heat, power, and especially transportation to meet state clean energy targets.
Policymakers in our jurisdictions are now setting more aggressive emissions targets, but the principles of deep decarbonization remain the same. Whether the goal is 80×50 or something more aggressive, we need to foster drastic change now.
Over the past decade, we have worked with policymakers, industry partners, and customers to make the clean energy transition, and we will continue to embrace all solutions. By working together today, we can mitigate some of the effects of climate change for future generations.
Other companies can choose — or decline — to participate in the journey to a clean energy future but for us, as a customer-focused energy company, it is required. That is why we have made the clean energy promise and ask everyone in the states we serve and beyond to join us on this journey. You can read more about this in my e-book, The Clean Energy Promise at ngrid.com/cleanenergypromise.
Dean Seavers, President, National Grid, [email protected]